Improvement in wigs



UNITED STATES ATENT Erica.

DEWITT G. WARNER, OF WILKES-BARBIE, PENNSYLVANIA.

IMPROVEMENT IN WIGS.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, DEWITT O. WARNER, of Wilkes-Barre, in the county ofLuzerne and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in Wigs, Toupees, and other Artificial Ooverin gs Made toImitate the Natural Hair; and I do hereby declare that the followingisafull, clear, and exact description of the same.

This invention consists in attaching the hair, as hereinafter described,to a groundwork of gutta-percha, either in the form of a perfect scalpor frame-work for a wig, or in plates or strips of any desired form fortoupees, plaits, curls, 850. The advantage of this groundwork over thenetwork commonly employed in wigs, &c., consists, first, in the facilitywith which the hair can be attached and the consequent reduction of theexpense of labor; secondly, in its allowing the hair to be combed anddressed with as much ease and perfection as if it were in its naturalcondition in situ; thirdly, in allowing the wigs or other articles to bewashed and cleansed thoroughly without injuring the beauty of theirappearance or affecting their durability.

To construct a wig I first mold the guttapercha base or groundwork on ablock or mold of suitable form, while it is kept sufficiently plastic byheat. This groundwork may be either in the form of a perfect scalpperforated all over for ventilation, and having one or more slits toallow it to be easily put on and taken off, said slits being providedwith strings to tie or with other suitable fastenings, or it maysimplyconsist of a frame, and in that case no further provision forventilation will be necessary. Having made the gutta percha groundwork,I proceed to attach the hair, which may be done in a variety of ways, inall of which the main agent by which the attachment is effected is asufficient degree of heat to make the gutta-percha plastic and adhesive.The mode of attaching the hair which I have essayed with most success isto take asmooth but not too sharp chisel-edged steel instrument, andheat it over a spirit-lamp or otherwise to a degree that will enable itto penetrate the gutta-percha easily, and I make with this instrument inthe exterior surface of the guttapercha a groove or furrow of about halfa line in depth and from half an inch to an inch in length. This beingdone, I take a lock of hair sufficient in quantity for the length of thegroove, without any other preparation than being well cleansed fromoil's, &c., and clip the ends to be attached, so as to bring them all inthe same line or plane, and lay them across the groove or furrow so thattheir cut extremities will project about half a line beyond its lateralcenter. I then place the heated instrument on the hair over the centerof the groove or furrow and press it down into the gutta-percha. Thisproduces an angular bend in the hair, as it sinks into the gutta-percha,which, being rendered adhesive by the heat of the instrument, causes thehair to remain in its bent form at the bottom of the groove or furrowafter theremovalof the instrument. Ithen with the heated instrumentpress the sides of the groove toward the center thereof, and thegutta-percha from the side next the cut ex tremities of the hair coversand adheres to the hair at the bottom of the groove and secures it. pAll that now remains to be done is to smooth the surface of gutta-perchaon either side the hair. At suitable distances apart I secure in thismanner a sufficient number of locks of hair to cover the whole scalp.The parting is formed by laying the hair in oppo site directions oneither side of it.

Another method of securing the hair is to bend the extremity ofeach withaheated metal instrument, so as to form a little hook, and to immersethe end so bent in an aqueous solution of gum-arabic, drying it, thensoftening the gutta-percha sufticiently for the extremity of the hairstiffened by the gum-water to pene trate to the depth ofthe bentextremity. This method will require considerable practice, and will bemore tedious than that first described, but will produce a very perfectimitation of nature. There are several other methods, which it is notnecessary to describe, as all partake of the same character.

Instead of employing a scalp or frame of gutta-percha, strips or platesof gutta-percha may have hair attached, as above described, and the saidstrips may then be applied to a net-work scalp of similar character tothe groundwork of wigs as usually constructed.

To construct toupees,plaits, curls, 850., strips or plates ofgutta-percha of proper form will Attaching the hair toa groundwork ofguttabe employed, and the hair attached by any of percha by means of theadhesive property of the methods above referred to as applicable to thegutta-percha as developed by the applicathe construction of Wigs. tionof heat,substantia1ly as herein described. I do not confine 'myself toany particular DEWITT O. WARNER. method of inserting the hair in thegutta-percha; but Witnesses:

What I claim as my improvement in wigs, JAMES SUTTON,

&c., and desire to secure by Letters Patent is- OHAs. N. DRAKE.

